Prevention of burnout for postgraduate medical students of China: status, problems and solutions

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Copyright: Wang, Chun
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Abstract
Burnout in medical students is of increasing concern in many countries including China. Burnout is an index of exhaustion related to work and current literature shows that burnout may lead to increased stress, reduced confidence and suicidal ideation. This study focuses on postgraduate medical students in China, studying mainly in the tertiary hospitals of China, who made up 15.5% of enrolled medical students in China in 2015. However, there are few studies that specifically explore levels of burnout in these students. This study was designed to address this gap. The main aims of the research were to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention that was designed to reduce burnout in medical students, improve it by identifying factors associated with burnout, and generate further solutions and burnout prevention strategies for Chinese postgraduate medical students. The thesis is constructed around four major pieces of work: a systematic review of research available on burnout among medical students in China, based on a literature review of burnout studies in medical students all over the world; a review of the medical education system in China, exploring current training structures and curricula, and highlighting contextual factors which might contribute to burnout; a quantitative study using the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Student Survey to evaluate the effectiveness of a mentor program as an intervention for preventing burnout, and identify levels of burnout among postgraduate medical students along with contributing factors and potential solutions; and a qualitative study using focus groups to generate and explore additional factors related to burnout to inform more targeted, and therefore potentially more effective, prevention strategies. This research contributes to the literature in three ways. Firstly, it is the first time that a narrative review of burnout studies in the Chinese context has been conducted in English, which gives international researchers a better understanding of the status of burnout research among medical students in China. Secondly, it is the first time that an intervention to deal with burnout has been implemented and evaluated systematically among Chinese postgraduate medical students with effective results. Thirdly, results from this research provide directions for further research into the development of burnout solutions and prevention strategies.
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Author(s)
Wang, Chun
Supervisor(s)
Balasooriya, Chinthaka
MacIntyre, Raina
Travaglia, Joanne
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Publication Year
2017
Resource Type
Thesis
Degree Type
PhD Doctorate
UNSW Faculty
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